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Black Footed Beach Thief With its red bill tipped in black and its black legs and webbed feet, the Heerman’s gull (Larus heermanni) is one of the most easily recognizable seagulls found in Laguna. Often seen on the beach congregating with other species of seagulls, the bird is...

By Rita Robinson | LB Indy Scientists are at odds and still at a loss in their attempts to pinpoint the culprit behind the massive die-off of sea stars along the California coast this last year. Water pollution is surfacing as a suspected cause, they say, while research...

By Tex Haines Sixty truckloads of sand flush out into the ocean every time the Aliso Creek berm is breached. It is fairly simple math to calculate the volume of sand. It is a truncated pyramid approximately 50 yards at the base, 20 yards across the top, 20 yards wide and three...

In the last few weeks, some sticky blotches of a black tar-like substance have been appearing on several beaches in Laguna. Many people assume that this phenomenon is being caused by industrial pollution associated with the extraction, transportation and storage of petroleum. In...

Editor, Many thanks for reporting on the new Aliso Creek Reclamation Facility (“Plant Prevents Runoff From Reaching the Sea,” May 2 edition). I especially appreciated remarks by SCWD staff linking this project to better ocean water quality. Last week’s visiting gray whales...

For the past two months, we started to experience daytime negative tides, a seasonal phenomenon where the tide becomes low enough to allow tidepool visitors to see organisms that are normally covered in water or inaccessible due to strong wave action. One of these creatures is...

As I was riding my exercise bike Sunday evening I tuned in to Bill Moyers’ interview with Wendell Berry. How have I missed knowing of this inspiring man? Now nearly 80 years old, Berry is a novelist and poet, environmental advocate, farmer and professor. At age 30 he left his...

Editor, In April of this year you published my letter concerning the airline flights over Laguna Beach after the closure of El Toro Marine Air Station. It seems that there is no measurable public reaction to this new element of pollution. I would like to add some specifics to...

Beholding Our Behemoths By Jan Sattler and Mia Davidson Although July through September is the prime viewing time for the blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus), so far in October our behemoth visitors are still hanging around and easily seen from Laguna’s cliffs and hills. The blue...

Editor, Maybe no one else in North Laguna, Mystic Hills, Temple Hills and Top of the World has noticed or cares, but the jet traffic over our neighborhoods is steadily increasing along with the noise and air pollution in the form of fine particles of unburned carbon (soot) that...

Editor, I have heard it said that “We have waited so long. We have to do something regarding traffic”. I agree and would like Laguna Beach to join the ever growing forward thinking cities and towns who are keeping cars on the periphery. They are reducing the pollution...

Editor, On Tuesday, June 11, our City Council voted to build a $40 or $50 million, plus interest, stacked auto park. The reason most stated is we must finely finish this project. Note, they did not say that this garage will relieve our perceived parking supply problem or relieve...

By Ellen Girardeau Kempler With “trees” and a canopy that shelters a colorful variety of species, Southern California’s version of a rainforest grows just off Laguna’s shore. Environmental groups like Nancy Caruso’s Get Inspired (and many others) have helped restore giant...

By Ellen Girardeau Kempler If you’re a stargazer, you already know the darkest places are best for viewing the night sky. In Laguna, this usually means spots off the traffic grid and above the frequent coastal cloud cover. Because you never know when the clouds will lift,...

Editor: Social and economic issues make this the most important election to Laguna Beach voters in years. Irvine is about to approve the construction of 10,000 new homes in our back yard. In the next few years, developers intend to build 4,000 new homes in Lake Forest. Taken...